Chapter 14 Chapter 14 There is indeed something wrong with the prince today...

The man in the hall was silent. When he was not smiling, the indifference that lingered around him deepened, and layers of pressure fell inch by inch. The Qin family, headed by Qin Peibai, all looked slightly solemn, not knowing what his intention was.

Qin Peibai glanced at Qin Xiao, indicating that he should ask Prince Su to go to the study for discussion.

Receiving the gaze, Qin Xiao calmly concealed the doubts in his eyes, and looked past the figures of his mother and sister to his younger sister who was hiding behind them with her eyes lowered. The girl lowered her head, and her face was completely invisible, so naturally it was impossible to tell whether she looked like her mother.

However, seeing that Fu Huaiqing's eyes were getting deeper and deeper into thought, he still took two or three steps forward, blocking the man's deep gaze, and said with a smile: "My younger sister just returned to Beijing, you'd better not scare her."

Fu Huaiqing raised her eyebrows slightly when she heard this.

He slowly examined his friend, occasionally glancing past him at Biezhi, who was retreating deeper into the room, his lips curling up slightly.

Qin Xiao found this odd. They had known each other since childhood, and they knew each other's personalities. He also knew that Fu Huaiqing wouldn't pay attention to anything unrelated to state affairs. An occasional glance was an exception. This level of interest was truly unprecedented.

He followed Fu Huaiqing's gaze, glancing back, but saw nothing amiss. Suspicion grew within him. As he averted his gaze, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a pair of furtive glances. He stiffened slightly, looking in disbelief at the girl, who suddenly lowered her head after being noticed.

Biezhi hadn't expected to be caught peeking, nor had she expected the man's gaze to remain fixed for so long. She pursed her lips, wondering if she'd noticed something wrong with her pretense when the man's shoes suddenly caught her eye. Her heart skipped a beat.

"We—"

The man's voice suddenly dropped, with a slight tremor in it. Biezhi recognized it as Qin Xiao's voice and breathed a sigh of relief, looking up at the stunned newcomer.

The girl's eyes trembled, with confusion and a hint of nervousness, as if she was frightened. Qin Xiao clenched and unclenched his palms at his sides, stopped walking, and asked, "Have we met before?"

Biezhi blinked, staring at him blankly, feigning confusion: "Hmm?"

"This is your brother, Qin Xiao." Madam Qin stepped aside to block the two of them, holding Biezhi's hand and introducing them: "If there is anything in the capital from now on that is inconvenient for us to come in person, you can go to him."

"Okay." Biezhi nodded to the man, "Brother."

The warm and well-behaved voice echoed in his ears, but the word "brother" made Qin Xiao frown.

Qin Wan, who had been observing for a long time, noticed her brother's impropriety and quietly tugged at his sleeve. Then, turning sideways, she said to Fu Huaiqing, "I have something to discuss with the prince. If you have time, could you please come to the study?"

Fu Huaiqing nodded with a hint of intrigue in his eyes, then stood up and walked towards the backyard.

Qin Wan breathed a sigh of relief and followed, tugging on her brother's sleeve.

Only when the sound of footsteps faded did Biezhi raise her head, glance at the servants present, and nod to the Qin family master.

Qin Peibai, after all, had been in the officialdom for many years, and he immediately understood what she meant. He walked towards her with a slightly hurried pace, and only stopped when he was almost in front of her.

His fingertips trembled with excitement, and he clapped Biezhi's hands with both hands: "I'm glad you're back, I'm glad you're back."

Biezhi hadn't expected his expression to be so exquisite. She blinked blankly for a moment before saying, "There are so many people around, can we talk somewhere else?"

The girl's lips clearly didn't move, but Qin Peibai could hear her whisper. He subconsciously glanced at his wife and saw surprise in her eyes.

Mrs. Qin was closest to Biezhi and heard it most clearly. After coming to her senses, she suppressed her surprise and said with a smile, "Biezhi has come all the way back and must be exhausted. Let's let her rest first."

"Madam is right, I didn't think it through." Qin Peibai agreed, hands behind his back: "Come on, Dad and Mom will take you back to the courtyard."

Biezhi had never found the right time to return to the courtyard.

It was not until they stepped into the attic and the servants were left in the yard that Biezhi found an opportunity. She turned around and bowed slightly to the Qin couple, and said softly: "In the next three months, I will trouble Lord Qin and Madam Qin to take care of me."

"You're welcome, young lady." Madam Qin put her hand against her fist, looked at Qin Peibai, and said, "We should thank you. I heard that you dealt with a lot of assassins for Xiao'er while you were escorting him."

Before Qin Xiao left Beijing, the Qin couple knew that his trip would be full of dangers. Eager to protect their son, they had to secretly find Xianyun Tower to do this business. After returning to Beijing, they heard that there were many assassins who followed them along the way, and they were all dealt with secretly by the secret guards sent by Xianyun Tower. Only then was their son able to return to Beijing safely. It was not until Xianyun Tower came to their door some time ago that they learned that it was a woman who escorted Qin Xiao out of Beijing.

"Madam, don't worry about the payment and delivery," Biezhi said. It wasn't like she was helping out for nothing. After all, she had already accepted five hundred taels, and any more would have been a bit embarrassing. But that wasn't the most important thing right now.

She paused for a moment, then asked, "May I ask, Lord Qin, is His Royal Highness Prince Su fully aware of our collaboration?"

Qin Peibai was taken aback by her question, marvelling at her straightforwardness and decisiveness. After a moment's reflection, he didn't hide anything: "Of course I know."

They were both amazed at Xianyunlou's decisiveness and puzzled as to why they had approached the Qin family instead of anyone else.

Xianyunlou's answer was simple.

The Qin family was one of the most prestigious families in the capital, and would undoubtedly attract the attention of the target of this mission.

Upon learning of Xianyunlou's purpose, Qin Peibai didn't immediately give them a definitive answer, instead saying he needed to consider the situation. The next morning, after they left, he rushed to the Shangshufang after court to report the matter to Prince Su, who was reviewing the memorials.

"If the prince doesn't agree, I certainly won't agree to cooperate with Xianyun Tower," Qin Peibai stated truthfully. No one in the court dared to speculate about Fu Huaiqing's spies in Beijing. Even though the younger members of the Qin family had a close relationship with him, the Qin family would never challenge his boundaries.

Seeing a hint of worry and concern in Biezhi's expression, he reassured her, "Don't worry, young lady. If the prince agrees, he won't say anything more. I just came here today because I have important matters to discuss with Xiao'er, and I just stopped by to see him."

"Just stopped by?" Biezhi frowned slightly.

Why did she feel that it didn't seem like just a matter?

Perhaps it was the look in his eyes, his expression, which always seemed to her to carry a deeper meaning.

Qin Peibai nodded, "I can't guarantee anything else, but the prince is not one to meddle in other people's affairs. Since he has agreed to the Qin family's cooperation with Xianyun Tower, he won't ask any more questions."

Biezhi looked at them with a mixture of disbelief. Seeing their bothersome confidence, her guard, which had been rising in her throat, slowly dropped.

She thought that Fu Huaiqing was the Qin family's future son-in-law, and the Qin family was naturally the most familiar with him. Since both the Qins had said so, she figured there wouldn't be any major problems.

"Young lady, please take a rest. We still have a long time to go. If anything unexpected happens, we will definitely inform you in advance." Mrs. Qin, not forgetting what she had just said to the others, glanced at the servants waiting outside and said loudly, "Mother and Father will come to see you later."

Biezhi nodded and walked them all the way to the courtyard gate.

The Qin couple stood in front of the archway, urging her to go inside and rest. They watched the girl disappear behind the door before walking back.

They dismissed their attendants and walked slowly towards the study.

"There's indeed something wrong with the prince today." Mrs. Qin thought about it and felt that Biezhi's suspicion was not fabricated. "His attention seems to be on Biezhi."

"If it's not on Biezhi, then is it on you and me?" Qin Peibai asked helplessly. "I guessed that the prince would come to test her, but I didn't expect him to come so soon. He caught her off guard."

Fortunately, Biezhi was also very calm and didn't seem to be scared at all.

Madam Qin frowned upon hearing this. "Will Xianyun Tower's mission this time involve the Qin family?"

"It's hard to say," Qin Peibai shook his head, a bit concerned. But Prince Su had already agreed, so there was no reason for him to refuse Xianyun Tower. "However, Xianyun Tower always prioritizes leaving room for maneuver. Since they've promised not to harm the Qin family, let's trust them for once."

Furthermore, Xianyun Tower's mission would also be helpful to their cause. It seemed the prince was hoping to use Xianyun Tower to lure the enemy out of their hole, just waiting to see if the fish would take the bait.

"Xu Wenche can't control the Xu family right now, so they might not come out in full force.

" Qin Xiao stroked the teacup with his fingertips, his brow furrowed slightly. "Xu Wenche isn't enough.

" Fu Huaiqing glanced at him casually. "Besides him, are there others?

" Qin Xiao was puzzled. Fu Huaiqing said calmly, "Xianyun Tower."

"Xianyun Tower—" Qin Xiao stopped talking and asked tentatively, "Did you contact them?"

Fu Huaiqing remained silent.

Qin Xiao immediately understood his thoughts. "If it were just the guards around Xu Wen Che, they wouldn't be suspicious. If Xianyunlou took action, it would prove that he has greater interests to gain. Given their suspicion, they will definitely not let go easily."

"What are you two talking about?" Qin Wan, who only understood half of what they were talking about, looked at their mysterious expressions and couldn't help but ask, "What Xu Wen Che, what Xianyunlou, what are they?"

"As long as we can find out even a little bit, he will definitely wait for the opportunity to make a move." Qin Xiao did not answer Qin Wan's words, but immersed himself in speculation. "Then everything will be solved."

Fu Huaiqing nodded, his fingertips tapping the table intermittently.

Qin Xiao understood his meaning: "What do you need the Qin family to do?"

"Deepen the Qin family's relationship with him and break his defenses," Fu Huaiqing said slowly.

"It's not easy." Qin Xiao frowned. Because of the relationship between the Qin family and Fu Huaiqing, this man and the Qin family were just casual acquaintances. In the past, he thought that he was unwilling to get involved with the Qin family and be accused of relying on connections to get to the top. Now it seems that he has long wanted to stay away from the Qin family. "He is several times more wary of the Qin family than the Su family."

Fu Huaiqing did not speak, his eyes slightly raised, and fell to the outside of the yard.

Qin Xiao followed his gaze and looked out of the courtyard. There was nothing else in the huge courtyard except the branches swaying in the wind.

"Your little sister's announcement banquet," Fu Huaiqing retracted his gaze, with a look of alienation in his expression, "is the best time for the Qin family to rebuild their relationship with him."

The man's expression was cold and indifferent, and there was no ripple in the depths of his dark pupils. The hot summer breeze suddenly changed, bringing a chill that made people shiver.